T Nation

Condiments?

#1

I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were on condiments. I use two pretty heavenly, both an unsweetened organic ketchup, and different types of organic mustard (german, dijon, and yellow). The thing that I would be most worried about is the sodium content in the mustard's, which is around 50-60mg's per tsp. Do you think that is high enough to have a negative effect if I am eating a decent amount of it 3-4 times per day with meats and veggies?

They have become a staple of flavoring in my diet, as I avoid most everything else because of the negative ingredients. Thoughts?

#2

You can make your own mustard using dry, ground mustard, if you want to control the sodium:

http://www.melborponsti.com/inxmtd.html


You have to kind of filter through them since quite a few contain sugar.

I’m also a big fan of roasted garlic spread - this is the easiest recipe I’ve found, and only contains garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper:

I use a food processor at the end to get a smooth paste, and rub it on meat and fish before I cook it, or add it to veggies…yum.

#3

Unless you’re a few weeks out from a contest (or if you have naturally high blood pressure), I wouldn’t worry about sodium content. When I’m dieting, I need all the condiments I can get my hands on! -lol

S

#4

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Unless you’re a few weeks out from a contest (or if you have naturally high blood pressure), I wouldn’t worry about sodium content. When I’m dieting, I need all the condiments I can get my hands on! -lol

S[/quote]

Thanks. This along the lines I was thinking. Neither of the condiments contain sugar, they are mostly vinegar and herbs/spices, the sodium is the only slightly bad thing. I don’t eat salt on anything else so I guess it’s probably good to get my sodium from somewhere. I also pound a lot of water throughout the day.

Bet you can’t wait to use some condiments after the contest huh Stu?

#5

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
You can make your own mustard using dry, ground mustard, if you want to control the sodium:

http://www.melborponsti.com/inxmtd.html


You have to kind of filter through them since quite a few contain sugar.

I’m also a big fan of roasted garlic spread - this is the easiest recipe I’ve found, and only contains garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper:

I use a food processor at the end to get a smooth paste, and rub it on meat and fish before I cook it, or add it to veggies…yum.[/quote]

Looks great, I don’t eat olive oil so I might have to make another spread, but I love garlic and onions.

#6

Franks red hot.

#7

Don’t worry about a little sodium unless you have health issues or are getting ready for a bbing show. I use a carb reduced ketchup, dijon mustard and garlic pureé on everything in the meat department :wink:

#8

Yeah, Mustard is usually okay in any circumstance. Even though I’ll be dropping most of my stuff later this week (pre-contest), I’llprobably keep mustard, and maybe Mrs. Dash (which I just bought 5 varieties of!) as it has no sodium in it.

S

#9

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
Franks red hot.[/quote]

I think I’m going to make hot wings tonight … I’ve had chicken in my freezer for a while … it’s time to utilize it

#10

Condiments + restrictive diet = Same results, much better experience

#11

Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

#12

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Can you find pure horse radish and Frank’s Red Hot at the grocery store or would it be better to order?

#13

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Can you find pure horse radish and Frank’s Red Hot at the grocery store or would it be better to order?[/quote]

Supermarket, yea.

#14

What do you guys think of Walden Farms Calorie Free Catsup?

http://waldenfarms.com/nutrition_facts.html#

The 2nd ingredient listed is tomato paste yet it says 0g Carbs… Okay to use while dieting?

#15

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Just picked up some Frank’s, looking forward to that at dinner. It’s pretty high in sodium, do y’all just let that slide?

I can’t find straight horse radish anywhere, any of the horse radish I find has a lot of fillers including soybean or canola oil. Do stores sell straight horse radish?

#16

[quote]therajraj wrote:
What do you guys think of Walden Farms Calorie Free Catsup?

http://waldenfarms.com/nutrition_facts.html#

The 2nd ingredient listed is tomato paste yet it says 0g Carbs… Okay to use while dieting?[/quote]

Yes that seems fine, unless your in the final week of contest prep or something, I don’t think you need to get worry at all. I use an unsweetened ketchup on everything and it has 1g carbs per serving. Just check the ingredients on what your eating and your good to go.

#17

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Just picked up some Frank’s, looking forward to that at dinner. It’s pretty high in sodium, do y’all just let that slide?

I can’t find straight horse radish anywhere, any of the horse radish I find has a lot of fillers including soybean or canola oil. Do stores sell straight horse radish?[/quote]

Frank’s is awesome, great taste and perfect level of spiciness, not hot but just enough kick to satisfy. Love it.

#18

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Just picked up some Frank’s, looking forward to that at dinner. It’s pretty high in sodium, do y’all just let that slide?

I can’t find straight horse radish anywhere, any of the horse radish I find has a lot of fillers including soybean or canola oil. Do stores sell straight horse radish?[/quote]

Frank’s is awesome, great taste and perfect level of spiciness, not hot but just enough kick to satisfy. Love it.
[/quote]

Unless you have pre-existing high blood pressure problems there is no reason to avoid sodium. It’s an essential part of a human’s diet. And if youre eating like an athlete/bodybuilder should you aren’t eating a ton of processed sodium rich foods in the first place. A few splashes of hot sauce is nothing to give extra thought to.

#19

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Horse radish

Franks red hot

Chinese red chilli and garlic sauce

[/quote]

Just picked up some Frank’s, looking forward to that at dinner. It’s pretty high in sodium, do y’all just let that slide?

I can’t find straight horse radish anywhere, any of the horse radish I find has a lot of fillers including soybean or canola oil. Do stores sell straight horse radish?[/quote]

Frank’s is awesome, great taste and perfect level of spiciness, not hot but just enough kick to satisfy. Love it.
[/quote]

Unless you have pre-existing high blood pressure problems there is no reason to avoid sodium. It’s an essential part of a human’s diet. And if youre eating like an athlete/bodybuilder should you aren’t eating a ton of processed sodium rich foods in the first place. A few splashes of hot sauce is nothing to give extra thought to. [/quote]

Yea I was thinking along those lines, especially the notion that I eat zero junk/processed food as a result of the Paleo Diet, so it’s probably helpful to get sodium from such sources.

#20

Just tried something that I read in another thread:

mixing greek yogurt + frank’s hot sauce and pouring it on chicken

Worked great!